Paduda: Not Invented Here

Tuesday, October 3, 2023 | 0

If we didn’t invent it, it didn’t need to be invented. 

Joe Paduda

That’s an expansion of the well-known “not invented here” meme, one far too common among workers’ comp insurers, third-party administrators, health plans and other large organizations.

We have all encountered this countless times. You can see it in the “not invented here” bias visible in expressions of execs dismissing a new approach, frontline workers rolling their eyes during training and mid-level managers listing in great detail all the reasons this will never work.

I recall a session with the “business analytics” team from a very large workers’ comp insurer, set up by an exec who wanted to “get my ideas” on health care data analytics and the uses thereof. This quickly devolved into a litany of, “Yeah, we already do that. Yup, tried that and it didn’t work. Nope, that will never work here."

Digging into a couple of these objections quickly revealed that the dismissing party didn’t even try to understand the idea, how it would help and why it was actually NOT something done before.

Sure, this infects EVERY organization, but the infection is far less dangerous in those that value open discussion, seek contrary opinions, keep asking questions and are open to learning from failure.

There’s a big push to get more young people involved in the industry.

Like many industries, insurance is graying out. Unlike many, insurance is finding it hard indeed to attract the best and brightest. The “not invented here” cancer is a major reason why creative, innovative, bold thinkers quickly dismiss the idea of working in insurance, workers’ comp and claims.

Not so for potential workers satisfied with doing the minimum, happy to parrot their bosses’ trite and obsolete views as they laze their way through the workweek.

The futility of this post is that the organizations where "not invented here" is most pervasive are those most blind to that infection.

What does this mean for you?

Asking painful questions is hard. It’s also key to survival.

Joseph Paduda is co-owner of CompPharma, a consulting firm focused on improving pharmacy programs in workers’ compensation. This column is republished with his permission from his Managed Care Matters blog.